Ansys, CMU partner for ‘Next Industrial Revolution’
CANONSBURG – Future Carnegie Mellon University engineers will design innovative products more efficiently and effectively, thanks in part to a collaboration with Southpointe-based Ansys Inc.
The partnership, announced Thursday, brings together two world leaders in engineering, computer science and simulation technologies to impact the future of engineering education and research.
The two groups noted manufacturing and product innovation is undergoing a revolution, commonly referred to as Industry 4.0, similar to the digital revolution for virtual products.
Ansys and CMU want to boost engineers’ use of simulation to enable unparalleled opportunities for exploration of many more materials and designs at the beginning of the development process.
As part of the partnership, a new building on the university’s campus will allow faculty, students, Ansys researchers and other corporate partners to interact in a large computer-supported collaboration space. The building will also provide a spacious maker facility where students will have access to physics-based simulation tools and cutting-edge technologies for making, assembling and testing their designs.
The shared goal is to build innovative approaches and tools that will result in shorter product development cycles and final products that are better quality and quicker to manufacture. All CMU students will also have access to the Ansys solution portfolio, enabling them to explore, simulate and analyze solutions for real-world engineering challenges.
“We are grateful to ANSYS for the important educational opportunity this brings to students across our campus,” said CMU President Subra Suresh. “Through a variety of CMU initiatives, we have seen firsthand that maker spaces help students think more creatively and take a hands-on approach to solving critical problems.”
“By joining forces, Ansys and Carnegie Mellon are investing in the future of engineering,” said Jim Cashman, president and CEO of ANSYS. “We will enable students and industry collaborators to create unprecedented levels of exploration and innovation by equipping all engineering students with the advanced tools and expertise they need.”
The partnership seeks a fundamental shift from the traditional “build and break” method where engineers build product prototypes and test them to identify design flaws. Simulation-driven product development flips the process by virtually exploring the properties of a plethora of design options up front, before committing to specific material and design choices.